The Mareth Line 1943: The end in Africa

98 Pages·2012·8.64 MB·English

by  Ken Ford

THE MARETH LINE 1943
The end in Africa
KEN FORD ILLUSTRATED BY STEVE NOON
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CAMPAIGN • 250
THE MARETH LINE 1943
The end in Africa
KEN FORD ILLUSTRATED BY STEVE NOON
Series editor Marcus Cowper
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CONTENTS
ORIGINS OF THE BATTLE 5
CHRONOLOGY 9
OPPOSING COMMANDERS 11
British commanders Axis commanders
OPPOSING ARMIES 16
British forces Axis forces Orders of battle
OPPOSING PLANS 22
British plans Axis plans
THE PURSUIT AFTER EL ALAMEIN 27
THE MARETH LINE 44
The position at Mareth The battle of Medenine Assaulting the Mareth Line
The break-in attack The New Zealand Corps’ left hook Forcing the Tebaga Gap
THE END IN AFRICA 87
THE BATTLEFIELD TODAY 93
FURTHER READING AND BIBLIOGRAPHY 94
INDEX 95
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The North African Campaign
CYPRUS Port Said Suez N
o
air
C
a
Crete SEA Tobruk BenghaziMersaGazalaEl Alamein4Matruh36Alexandri157108CYRENAICA119QattaraDepression EGYPT 10.October/November 1942, Montgomery launches his attack at El Alamein and defeats Rommel’s armywhich is forced to retreat right back to El Agheila.11.December 1942, Montgomery’s planned attack on the El Agheila positions meets only enemy rearguards;Rommel has retreated to Buerat.12.January 1943, Rommel employs delaying tactics at Buerat and then withdraws to a new line at Homs.13.End of January 1943, Rommel withdraws from Homs when reports reach him that the British areoutflanking the line through the desert.14.January 1943, Tripoli is given up and Rommel withdraws into Tunisia.15.March 1943, Axis forces under Gen. Messe make their last attack in North Africa when they launchthe abortive operation against Medenine.16.March 1943, Eighth Army breaks through the Mareth Line defences.17.April 1943, Eighth Army breaks through the defences at Wadi Akarit.18.May 1943, Tunis falls and all Axis forces in North Africa surrender to the Allies.
N a
A 2 heil
Sicily Tunis 18Sousse SfaxMEDITERRANE17Wadi AkaritGabes16Mareth15Tripoli HomsTUNISIA1413Gulf of Sirte BeuratTRIPOLITANIA12 El Ag LIBYA 200 miles 200km September 1940, an Italian army under Maresciallo Graziani crosses the Egyptian/Libyan border,but is confronted by British forces under the command of Gen. Wavell who pushes the Italians backacross Cyrenaica to El Agheila.February 1941, Gen. Rommel arrives in North Africa and attacks from El Agheila to force the Britishinto retreat. They withdraw to the Egyptian border leaving Tripoli under siege.Brevity and Battleaxe, to relieveMay/June 1941, Gen. Wavell launches two attacks, Operations Tobruk; both fail.November 1941, British forces, now formed into Eighth Army under Lt. Gen. Cunningham launch aCrusader. Tobruk is relieved and Rommel’s forces are pushed right backmajor offensive, Operation to El Agheila.January 1942, Rommel goes onto the offensive once more and pushes Eighth Army, now under thecommand of Lt. Gen. Ritchie, back to prepared positions at Gazala.May 1942, Rommel launches a major offensive that retakes Tobruk and pushes Eighth Army backto El Alamein in Egypt. Gen. Auchinleck replaces Ritchie at the head of Eighth Army.July 1942, Rommel attacks positions at El Alamein but is defeated by Auchinleck.August 1942, Montgomery replaces Auchinleck as commander of Eighth Army who reorganizes theformation ready to go on the offensive.August/September 1942, Rommel tries again to break the line at El Alamein in the battle of AlamHalfa but fails through lack of strength.
0 0 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.8. 9.
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ORIGINS OF THE BATTLE
On 4 November 1942, the defeat of Panzerarmee Afrika under the command
of Generalfeldmarschall (GFM) Erwin Rommel by Lieutenant-General (Lt.
Gen.) Bernard Montgomery’s Eighth Army in the battle of El Alamein proved
to be the climax of the Desert War. The struggle that had begun in September
1940 against Italian forces on the Libyan–Egyptian border had by then reached
its critical moment – a trial of strength in which a dramatic breakthrough would
have been possible by whoever proved to be the most determined. It was
Montgomery who succeeded.
The conflict in North Africa had progressed from a fight between two
colonial powers into a theatre of war which captured the attention of the
whole world. After Britain’s repulse in the Battle of France in June 1940 and
its exit from the continent of Europe through Dunkirk, the North African
desert was the only place in which its land forces opposed the enemy.
The theatre was the scene of many large-scale battles, especially after
Italian troops were joined by those from their ally Germany under the
command of Erwin Rommel. Actions were fought over wide-open tracts of
desert in a harsh environment that punished the unwary. As one side moved
away from its supply bases, the other side grew closer to its own. Growing
strength on one side was met with gradual weakening on the other. Progress
A soldier examines an Italian
M13/14 tank that had been
knocked out at Alamein.
(DA-02734, War History
Collection, Alexander Turnbull
Library, Wellington NZ)
5
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LEFT was a to-and-fro trek between the deserts of Libya and Egypt as each side in
Italian prisoners in captivity turn gained the upper hand.
after the battle. Most had been Over a period of more than two years, many leading commanders had seen
left behind without transport as
their reputations won or lost in the desert through the battles they had fought.
the Germans rushed away from
the battlefield in their tanks The disaster of the loss of Tenth Army by the Italian commander Graziani
and trucks. (IWM, E21541) was in great contrast to the success gained by Lieutenant-General Richard
O’Connor, whose outflanking movements across vast wastes were later
RIGHT
employed by Rommel. This initial success was soon followed by General
A New Zealand padre conducts
a burial service for some of the Archibald Wavell’s efforts throughout 1941. With few resources and the need
fallen at El Alamein. (DA-11753, to supply troops to diversions in Greece and Crete, Wavell’s command brought
War History Collection, little reward. Auchinleck, who followed him, could count the successes of
Alexander Turnbull Library,
Operation Crusader and First Alamein amongst his battle honours, but he,
Wellington NZ)
like Wavell, fell victim to Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s impatience for
greater victories.
The Desert War was dominated by the charismatic German commander
Erwin Rommel. After his arrival in Libya on 12 February 1941, the situation
changed completely. Rommel brought with him the units that were to become
the famed Deutsches Afrika Korps (DAK). His expertise, daring exploits
andbold leadership created a type of warfare that had the British reacting to
his moves. There is little doubt that his superiority in generalship, and the
greater effectiveness of his tanks and weapons, always placed his opponents
at a disadvantage. His greatest problem was one of supply and it was this
shortcoming that compromised his plan to capture Egypt and cross the Suez
Canal into the Middle East. Whether this might actually have been a possibility
remains a subject for historians to debate, but there is little doubt that if his
Panzerarmee Afrika had had sufficient strength to go on the offensive at
Alamein, the outcome of the Desert War might have been quite different.
Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery had arrived in Egypt at a most
opportune moment. General Claude Auchinleck before him had by then halted
Rommel’s advance into Egypt and had won the first battle of El Alamein.
When Montgomery took over Eighth Army in August 1942, he had only part
of Auchinleck’s old command to deal with. Auchinleck before him was
Commander-in-Chief Middle East and had responsibility for the war in North
Africa and for the troubles in Iraq, Persia, Palestine, etc. Montgomery was
given just Eighth Army and reported to General Sir Harold Alexander who
held responsibility for the remainder of the Middle East. Montgomery also
6
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Field guns of the Italian
Divisione Corrazzata ‘Ariete’ left
on the battlefield after Alamein.
The division suffered appalling
losses and very few men or
tanks survived to begin the
retreat. (DA-11211, War History
Collection, Alexander Turnbull
Library, Wellington NZ)
had the luxury of not attacking until Eighth Army had been massively
reinforced, retrained and had plentiful supplies. This superiority in numbers
of troops, weapons and new skills after so many years of having to make do
with what was available, was the means with which he was able to overwhelm
Rommel on the battlefield.
The British Eighth Army that Rommel and his Panzerarmee Afrika faced
at El Alamein was, at that time, the most powerful formation that Britain
had put into the war. If it had been defeated then the whole of the nation’s
presence in the Middle East would have been compromised. Both sides had
fought at El Alamein knowing that failure would mean the end. For his part
Rommel understood that if he could not overwhelm Eighth Army, then he
could not stay in Egypt or possibly even remain in Libya. Montgomery also
knew of the importance of winning. He realized that if he failed, it would be
months, or even years, before Eighth Army could regain Egypt and rebuild its
strength to go on the offensive again.
A South African-built Marmon
Herrington armoured car
passes a burning Panzer after
the battle of Alamein. The
picture appears to have been
set up for the cameraman, for
the tank looks as though it had
been wrecked some time
earlier and a small fire started
on it for effect. (IWM, E23088)
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LEFT The eventual success by the British at El Alamein ensured that they would
Transport on the road to Mersa remain masters of North Africa, provided that the Axis forces were not given
Matruh during the opening the opportunity to re-form and strike back. On paper, on 4 November, the
stages of Eighth Army’s pursuit.
probability of the enemy striking back seemed very unlikely. The victory had
In the mid distance one of the
trucks has hit a mine that had been so complete that the Italian–German army could do little but flee. Its
been sown on the desert floor annihilation at the hands of the massed British armour that was gathering
just off the road. (DA-06877, ready to pursue it looked inevitable. History, however, shows that in the
War History Collection,
months following Alamein, Rommel and his men did escape, they did re-form
Alexander Turnbull Library,
and they did attempt to strike back. Eighth Army proved unable to administer
Wellington NZ)
the final blow on its own. Rommel escaped into Tunisia with his Axis forces
RIGHT and it took the combined strength of two Allied armies finally to chase them
A captured Kfz15 passenger
from Africa.
car, liberated from the Italians,
has been pressed into service This second Allied army was the result of an Anglo-American invasion
to tow an ambulance out of North Africa on 8 November 1942. Operation Torch, commanded by
ofapatch of soft sand. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, brought a new force into the theatre when
(IWM,21522)
Americans arrived to fight the Axis forces. They quickly moved into Tunisia
and stationed themselves in Rommel’s rear. Hitler reacted to this Allied move
by immediately ordering Tunis to be seized by the few German troops already
in the country and for new forces, under the command of Generaloberst
Hans-Jürgen von Arnim, to be airlifted over the Mediterranean to defend
the city. The speed of this deployment over the next days and weeks was
formidable and took the Allies by surprise. Within 14 days there were enough
Germans in Tunisia to stifle the Allied move on Tunis and to keep the city and
most of Tunisia under Nazi control for six more months.
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CHRONOLOGY
1942 1943
4 November The battle of El Alamein reaches its 14 January Anticipating Eighth Army’s attack,
conclusion with a victory for Lt. Gen. Panzerarmee Afrika withdraws
Montgomery’s Eighth Army and fromBuerat towards a new position
adefeat for GFM Rommel’s atHoms.
Panzerarmee Afrika.
15 January Montgomery attacks the Buerat
5 November Rommel’s forces are in full retreat and Lineonly to find that most of the
Montgomery’s armoured formations give enemyhave departed leaving just
chase, trying to cut off and capture as rearguards behind.
many of the enemy as possible by various
manoeuvres across the desert. 20 January Rommel has no intention of holding
the line at Homs or the port of
6 November Attempts to trap the fleeing Axis forces Tripoli,and starts a staged withdrawal
at Fuka fail. which will take him from Libya into
Tunisia and the defences of the
8 November Operation Torchlands Anglo-American MarethLine.
forces in North Africa. These forces are
gradually enlarged to form First Army. 23 January Eighth Army arrives in Tripoli to much
Rommel now has an enemy army to his celebration.
front and his rear.
15 February Eighth Army begins arriving in force
11 November After managing to evade being captured inthe area in front of the Mareth Line.
at Mersa Matruh, Rommel and his Its long supply chain stretching back
army cross over the Sollum Heights hundreds of kilometres is severely
intoLibya. stretched and it will take weeks before
itis ready to mount an assault.
13 November Eighth Army reaches Tobruk and finds
that Rommel’s forces have gone. 17 February Rommel uses the pause to exploit the
exposed nature of the Anglo-American
19 November Axis forces pull out of Benghazi and force in Tunisia and helps Gen. von
retreat into the El Agheila positions. Arnim’s 5. Panzerarmee to launch
asurprise attack on the Americans
14 December Montgomery launches his attack at atKasserine.
ElAgheila but finds that the bulk of
Rommel’s army has pulled out, falling 6 March Generale Messe, now in command of
back on a new line at Buerat. what has become Italian First Army,
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launches, at Rommel’s suggestion, 26 March Lt. Gen. Horrocks’ X Corps launches
aspoiling attack on Montgomery’s Operation Supercharge IIand drives
forces before they are ready to through the Tebaga Gap to outflank the
launchtheir own attack on the defences at Mareth. The enemy retreats
Marethdefences. Operation Capri north of Gabes to a new position at
failsmiserably. Wadi Akarit.
9 March GFM Rommel leaves Africa never 6 April Eighth Army attacks the enemy line at
toreturn. Wadi Akarit. By the end of the day, after
heavy fighting, Gen. Messe realizes that
20 March Montgomery launches Operation the position is untenable and gives the
Pugilistagainst the Mareth Line. Its order for a retreat to a new position at
limited strength of just one division, Enfidaville 240km to the north.
50th Division, is not capable of
withstanding a counterattack by 15. 16 April Eighth Army closes up to positions at
Panzer-Division and is forced back to Enfidaville but intends to execute only
its start line. An outflanking move by limited attacks leaving First Army to
New Zealand Corps through the continue the drive towards Tunis.
TebagaGap also fails.
3 May First Army launches Operation Strike,
23 March Montgomery changes his plans and the final offensive to take Tunis.
decides to make the Tebaga Gap his
main assault and reinforces the New 13 May All Axis forces in Tunisia surrender
Zealand Corps with HQ X Corps and tothe Allies; the war in North Africa
1st Armoured Division. isover.
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